


Till I Die

by Vax (soulstice)



Category: Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: M/M, Post-Canon, possible future ot3, taboo noise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-24
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2019-08-07 03:55:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16400870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soulstice/pseuds/Vax
Summary: Takes place post-canon, during A New Day. Possible spoilers.Sho, still dealing with the effects of Corrupted Taboo Noise, has been resummoned by a suspicious reaper and is forced to lay low with Joshua per Hanekoma's instructions, despite the lingering tension between the trio.





	Till I Die

**Author's Note:**

> A New Day fucked me up so I had to write it. Plus there is way too few fanfictions for this game, much less this pairing specifically. Just doing my civic duty.

"That's it, kitten. Feel it flowing through—you're doing great. Keep it up." 

It was all Sho could do to keep focusing on Hanekoma's voice while an all-encompassing heat coursed through his veins. He couldn't be sure if he was yelling or not, but the entire world seemed far away, as if the darkness had swallowed him whole. His skin seemed to bubble and move and he swore he was going to shatter his own teeth or slice through his own hand with his nails from how hard he was tightening all his muscles. 

For a moment, the black shifted to red and the sharp pain he was feeling before became bone shattering, and at that point he was certain he was screaming. He felt a hand touch his shoulder, gripping him tightly in the abyss that was surrounding him, but the power's infra-rumble was deafening. Was that his name he heard? He couldn't tell. He felt something wrap around him tightly, holding on, constricting him—suffocating him—but was it the taboo or something else? He struggled violently against the unidentified binding only until he heard his name clearly—Sanae. 

A flip switched in his brain, as he remembered everything. He did this he did this he did this to me. 

Fueled by the fresh burst of rage, he managed to squirm free just enough to sink his claws into the flesh of Hanekoma's arms and pry himself free. Hands ripped into the man he blamed for his suffering, leaving gashes across his arms and chest. Sho laughed viciously as Hanekoma screamed and cried out, begging him to stop. What a waste, a coward. 

"You wanted me to be your pet, huh?! Well it seems as if there's a slight deviation, a miscalculation in your clever equation—I'll reduce you to the null sector!" 

Just as his black claws began to sink further into the pale flesh, there was a sharp slap across his face, and everything around him faded to white. The red was gone—The interior of Wildkat disappeared and he was left hovering over a heavily panting and uncharacteristically terrified Joshua; something that Sho was certain he'd never actually witnessed before. 

Sho blinked several times as a hand lifted to his face to feel his stinging cheek, only to feel a slickness press against his skin. Upon further inspection, he saw that it was, in fact blood: Joshua's, to be more precise. As if on cue, Joshua groaned miserably as he attempted to move out from under him. He was a mess, bleeding, shirt torn to shreds—Sho was speechless, frozen in place by the sight. Had he..? 

"You're such a brute, you know that? You're buying me a new shirt." 

Sho blinked and curled back in on himself. Arms crossed over his chest, still able to feel the black Taboo under his skin giving off that heat,which rose as smoke before dissipating. It must have been a dream—but it had felt so real. Joshua had warned him about this. The Taboo was still relatively new and hadn't been given enough time to adjust to him before using it to the extent that he had. The fact that there was so little literature or knowledge in general about Taboo Noise made this whole thing all that more experimental, but Joshua had assured him that he'd stick around. Of course there were conditions, but if it meant there was a higher likelihood of him making it through the ordeal, he was willing to put up with it. 

"What happened?" 

Joshua's wounds were already in the process of healing as he stripped off the shreds of what had been his shirt and dug around for a replacement. "Must have been a Taboo induced nightmare. Though I am deeply curious about what it was about." Joshua giggled tauntingly but said no more as he buttoned up the new shirt. 

"Hanekoma..." It was said with a growl. He could already feel himself getting angry again, the red fading back into his vision, but he was able to swallow most of it. 

"Oh~?" Joshua returned to Sho, placing hands gently on his shoulders and gazed up at him with a look that seemed sweet and innocent, but the decades he had spent at his side told him otherwise. "Well, try to keep your claws to yourself next time. You know I don't mix well with Taboo. Who knows what could happen?" 

Joshua patted his cheek before turning around. Sho wasn't sure if he should feel good or bad about any of that. Joshua had forgiven him for everything that had happened so easily. He couldn't be sure if it had been a trick, similar to the tricks played by Hanekoma. Sho had tried to kill him so many times but ever since their last fight.After, when Joshua had finally dug him out from under the vending machine that he had crushed him under, things had changed. 

Black hands passed through messy hair. He was forever marked, a fugitive of the UG. They all seemed to be, now or at the very least, were choosing to lay very low. Neither of them had seen much of Hanekoma since the end of the last game. Joshua refused to tell him where he was hiding out, and Sho was sure that it was because Joshua knew Sho would wring his neck at the first sight of him. 

"Are you coming or not?" 

Snapped back from his thoughts, he rose from where he had been sitting and grabbed his frayed coat from the back of a chair. Maybe he should pick up a new one too. 

Joshua had always been good at acting as if nothing had happened.It seemed he got better at it, the more really-not-okay things actually were. It was much more difficult for Sho, who hated even leaving their hide-out anymore. The Taboo had changed his whole existence and it always seemed to burn on the streets more than whenever he was inside. It had to be the presence of players and noise on the streets of the UG that drove it wild. 

Ignoring the nagging metaphorical nipping at the back of his heels, they stopped for crepes and coffee at a local shop before wandering to 104's shopping center.

"Shibuya sure seems quieter these days—but in a good way, I think." 

Sho glanced over at Joshua as he took a delicate bite of his strawberry pastry while browsing the newest Natural Puppy line. In the shops, the heat seemed to calm, and he could actually try to enjoy being out and about in Shibuya. 

"May not be as exciting, but I think Shibuya has seen enough excitement for a little while." Another giggle as Joshua shoved a handful of shirts into Sho's chest via their entangled hangars. Sho grabbed them, but said nothing. He hadn't quite parsed out how to act around him- what was okay and not okay, or how he should take anything. He felt like he was constantly treading on thin ice, ready to crack and break under his weight. 

It was as if, to Joshua, the last several weeks hadn't even happened, and Sho hated that. It was driving him absolutely mad to not be able to piece together what he was thinking. They may have known each other for ages, but it was as if he had to learn everything over again, albeit with arguably higher stakes. 

Joshua continued to pick through various accessories, humming a too-cheery tune before shooing Sho to go pay with a flick of the wrist, only offering a side glance and a cocky lift of his brow. Sho grumbled under his breath, unable to shake the uneasiness rising in his chest. Joshua was clearly thinking something- waiting for something, but he couldn't figure out what. What did Joshua want? What did Joshua ever want? 

He slapped down his payment and slunk back to where Joshua stood with a hand on his hip, his bright orange phone out but eyes gazing over the screen and directly at him, almost accusingly. Who the hell was he even texting? Sho's eyes darted around, wondering if he had missed something in the split moment he had lost to the pain. 

"What? Why do you keep staring at me like that?" 

Joshua's smile dropped which, in turn, caused Sho's heart to simultaneously lurch into his throat and plummet into his stomach. That was never a good sign. 

"Cut the crap, Sho. I thought we could let this all be water under the bridge, but it seems like that just isn't going to happen. I didn’t think this would all be sunshine and rainbows, but--" He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "What is it that you're expecting? Would you like an apology? An explanation as to why—if I wanted to die so badly-- I couldn't just let you kill me and be done with it? Or is this about Mr. H? Is that it?" Joshua had begun to speak in the playful, sing-song tone that he usually kept masked over anything and everything else but his voice had risen in volume and pitch until he was quite nearly shouting at Sho despite the heads starting to turn towards them in the store. It wasn't like him to forget that they were visible like this. 

Sho's snap reaction was always anger, and with the influence of the Taboo, it only made things worse. He felt his skin growing hot, but he didn't care as Joshua's little rant grew louder, his own hands clenching into fists. "I don't want anything from you! I'm only stickin' around cause I have no other choice. I lost everything—my friends, my status, my BODY— **look** at me, Joshua!" Sho held out his arms, showcasing the darkened skin that covered him now. "I don't even know if I can trust _anyone_ —you and Mr. H both hid shit from me, lied to me, **_used me!_** Am I just some plaything to both of you? A pawn in some scheme you cooked up in your spare time to fuck with each other for shits and giggles?!"

Joshua didn't back down even though he really should have, in the eyes of anyone watching the spectacle. Sho towered over his deceptively small RG form, when in reality they stood at nearly the same height. His dull amethyst eyes grew a bit more heavily lidded, staring forward with the empty fortitude of a man who had made many hard decisions and continued to do so. More than Sho's perceived size advantage it was the sudden lack of any colorful math references or puns that made his aura run cold. 

"Because you have no choice? Do you think I'm going to be your guardian angel, Minamimoto? Keep it up and maybe I'll get so fed-up with your self-pity that I'll lay down and bare my neck for you willingly just to be done with you!" At that point Joshua quite literally threw his hands up—which could have meant anything from imminent surrender to imminent summoning-of-meteors-and/or-trashcans. 

The rage in Sho's eyes was apparent to anyone within range, and the handful of bystanders that had stopped to gawk, open mouthed, visibly took a few steps back. The Taboo Noise that resided just beneath his skin seemed to move and spread, heat rising, and if an onlooker didn't know any better, even the most realistically grounded person might swear they saw smoke rising off of him. He growled low in his throat, a heavy step forward, arm moving backwards as if to begin summoning one of his Psychs. 

"Why you little----" 

Everything stopped when a firm hand was placed upon his shoulder, and it was like every muscle in his body froze. Without even looking, he knew exactly who it was, and he wasn't sure whether he should be thankful for the interruption or pissed at who was doing the interrupting. 

Steam rose and sizzled around the offending fingers before their owner hastily removed them from his burning hot aura, a weak laugh resounding behind him. Joshua seemed to calm down at the presence, but Sho knew that they were both still very much on edge, just in an entirely different way. 

"Afternoon, boys." Hanekoma stepped between them and shook his singed hand flippantly, trying to make light of the fact that he had nearly given himself a nasty burn. "Hope I'm not cutting into anything important. Would you like to join me for a cup o' joe? Did you know some studies show that coffee can actually be quite relaxing?" 

Sho visibly twitched, his tongue clicking against his teeth as he refused to make eye contact. The Taboo was still active, hot, and itching for a fight, especially with Hanekoma's presence. Even if he wanted to rip his head off, even Sho knew this was not the right place or time to fight with either of them. Maybe if he could just get him alone at Wildkat... 

"I'm not paying." Joshua pushed past both of them and was heading towards the door before either of them could really react. "And you better not have damaged my new shirts, Minamimoto." 

Sho growled and resisted the urge to chuck the entire bag at him, but instead followed after him with Hanekoma at his heels. They all kept a moderate distance from each other, and remained quiet during the walk to Cat Street. Joshua trudged ahead while Sho and Hanekoma lingered behind, Hanekoma at the tail as if he was making sure neither of them pulled any tricks or wandered off. 

By the time Sho and Hanekoma stepped inside, Joshua was already perched at the counter, fiddling with his phone. Sho hung back by the entrance as Hanekoma strode past and headed behind the counter to start making them each a simple latte, muttering under his breath about how he might need an iced coffee himself as he favored his opposite hand. 

The place had been slightly remodeled, fixed up from the last time he'd seen it—and ransacked it. For a moment, the only sound was made by the low groan of the espresso machine, followed by the hissing of steam. Sho crossed his arms, folding in on himself. He slunk over to where Joshua was actively ignoring his existence and sat down two stools over. 

Hanekoma put a mug in front of each of them and began wiping down the steam wand with a wet tea towel as he looked over the counter. "So what are you boys arguing over? I thought everything was peachy-keen in the new Shibuya?" 

Joshua's face tightened as he shipped his coffee. "You know as well as any of us that Shibuya is not 'peachy-keen,' Mr. H." A hand swiftly motioned over to Sho. "As evidenced by the stray cat I picked up wandering around Udagawa the other day." 

"Hey--" 

Sho's protest was silenced with the flick of a wrist, and then Joshua's hand was held up to motion for him to shut up, because he wasn't done. 

"He's been brought back for a purpose and I have yet to discern what that is. So I've elected to adopt him for the time being, even if he's become quite the nuisance since your..." Joshua's eyes lingered on Hanekoma. "..interference." 

Sho finally defiantly stood up, butting in by slamming his hands down on the counter, nearly knocking his own mug off in the process. Luckily for Joshua, he had anticipated the outburst and picked his own up just in time. Sho fumed, pointing a blackened finger stiffly in the general direction of Sanae's chest. "Hanekoma didn't interfere in anything! I did this! This power, this body—my equations were flawless. The correlation between him and I are infinitesimal. I am entirely self-made and---" 

Joshua, without rising from his seat, let out a cold peal of laughter and turned slowly on his stool. "Oh, is that right? Either you think I'm stupid or you're far more stupid than I ever took you for. Blind. Oblivious. Insignificant. You couldn't accomplish anything you set out to do. I don't even know why you're here, but out of the kindness of my heart I took you in and this is the thanks I get? Instead of leaving you for--" 

"Hey-" Hanekoma dared to interrupt, feeling the tension in the room peaking. He stepped between them, one hand shoved in a pocket and another offered out as if they'd think it were some offer of peace. "Boys, don’t we have more important things to talk about? Like about what happened to Shinjuku and the possible fate of Shibuya if we don't do something, for instance?" 

Both Sho and Joshua stopped, Joshua sighing and rolling his eyes before turning back towards the counter. Sho continued to stand there, fists clenched tightly and squared off with Hanekoma, both of them testing to see who would move first. 

Their stand-off was interrupted when Joshua flippantly raised his hand again. "It seems as if we are going to have our hands full—though this time I don't believe we will be fighting against each other. For better or for worse, I suppose. Well, I can't necessarily say the same for Sho..." A hand moved to his chin, index finger curled to signal that he was deep in thought. This whole scenario had yet to be pieced together and the likelihood that it would be an easy puzzle to solve was slim. 

Sho groaned and ran a hand through his hair before dropping it dramatically. "What are you on about? I'm here now, aren't I? 

"Exactly. You might have been able to move between planes before of your own free will, but having been summoned may pose new rules... We have yet to discern whether or not you have some higher power to answer to- whether or not you're even aware of its existence." 

"I don't have to answer to anyo--" 

"You were summoned, Sho. Taboo may be a relatively new addition to this city, but we know enough about it to know that it functions close enough to regular Noise, meaning what whoever summons it, controls it. You may very well fall into that category. And if our suspicions are correct in that little reaper girl having summoned you, we may have a huge problem on our hands." 

Sho snarled at Hanekoma's calm demeanor. He had been the one to encourage his studies into the forbidden art of Taboo noise, even offering him extra material to help him along. Of course he'd know how it worked. 

"So how do we stop it? Minamimoto is a formidable force, being the brute that he is. Him falling into the hands of someone who may or may not be out to destroy Shibuya is not exactly something I want to see happen." 

"Sho will have to stay with us at all times. Kept under lock and key if necessary. We don't know what she is capable of yet, but her powers are great. She is not to be taken lightly, I know that much." 

"Can you two transcendental numbers stop talking about me as if I've been subtracted off the coordinate plane? Don't I get a say in this algorithm?" 

Joshua tapped his chin, slowly standing and pacing slightly. Sho watched, vaguely irritated that he was being ignored, yet again. His eyes darted between the two ephemeral beings and he grew increasingly annoyed, nearly ready to walk out on them entirely. 

Hanekoma finally piped up as he returned to his station behind the counter, beginning the process for another espresso. "What we need to do is lay low. At least for the time being." 

"I'll just become an element in the Taboo plane again. Calculations complete." 

"She would find you immediately- far too risky and could potentially lead her directly to our doorstep." Joshua lifted a finger, as if pointing at something that didn't exist. 

"He can't stay here, either. She already thinks ill of me and this will likely be the first place she checks once she realizes her ace in the hole is missing. Joshua, your place is likely the safest." 

Sho's mouth dropped open. "You've gotta be zetta kidding me..." 

Joshua shook his finger as he mulled it over. "No, he's right. The protections here, while good, are not good enough to mask your taboo. My place was designed to mask my power as The Composer enough to remain undetected, which means it will be enough to mask the Taboo." 

"I will continue to do recon here, see what I can gather on the streets. Perhaps our little reaper friend will swing by for an interrogation and let loose her plans, if we're lucky." Hanekoma lifted the mug of coffee and took a daring sip. "Both of you should remain as hidden as possible. This is especially true for you, Sho. Until I can come up with a way to mask your energy levels outside of Joshua's place, it won't be safe for you." 

"This is zetta garbage! Not only am I just a numeral in your factoring matrix again, but I'm not even allowed to go anywhere? I never agreed to this." Sho held out his fist in defiance. 

This wasn't fair. He had never asked to be involved in any of this. He was done with it all and he had been dragged here against his will in the first place, forced to play a part and he didn't even get to decide what that part was. He was tired of being tugged in every direction and tired of being used. He was tired of being talked out of control of his own future. 

His breath quickened as his mind swarmed with the darkened corruption slowly gnawing at his sanity. There was a low rumble in his throat as he stepped closer to Hanekoma and Joshua, his wrath consuming him, reminding him of all they had taken away from him. 

"I'm done being your zetta pawn!" He lunged forward but Joshua was quick to halt him with a swift kick, causing him to falter. 

"Do you want to **die? _Again?_** Come back as someone else's pawn in a scheme when we're not even sure what it is-- and probably with zero free will? Just shut up for five seconds and maybe you'd realize that this is not only for your sake, but for the sake of the entire city. Have some self-preservation for once." 

Hanekoma placed his cup down and rounded the counter and went to Sho's side, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder before turning his head to Joshua, addressing them both. "You don't have much time. She'll notice Sho is missing soon, and it'd be best if you were already hidden. Spend some quality time together. I have a feeling you'll learn to trust each other again in no time." 


End file.
